Courage My Love are a three-piece pop-rock/alternative band from Ontario consisting of twin sisters Mercedes (vocals and guitar), and Phoenix Arn-Horn (drums and keyboards), and Brandon Lockwood (bass). They've released three EPs, "For Now" in 2011, "Becoming" in 2013 (later released as a full length album in 2015), and "Spirit Animal" in 2014 (which is nowhere to be found on iTunes or Spotify). Two years after the rerelease of "Becoming", Courage My Love have just released their second album "Synesthesia" on February 3. "Synesthesia" stems away from CML's original pop punk sound and is more alternative rock/pop rock with a lot more synthesizers mixed in with the guitars. Mercedes's voice has improved tremendously over the years, and the whole band has improved overall in their musicianship. Here is a review!

The first track, "Synesthesia", is one of those short little introduction songs some albums have that aren't really songs. It's just an introduction to the album, only 50 seconds long. There's a little bit of piano, kind of an eerie sound, and you can hear in the background a tiny sneak-peak into the first real song "Animal Heart". This doesn't really have a purpose except for just leading the listener into the album.

Next is "Animal Heart" which was released at the end of 2016. It starts out with some synths and the guitars start to kick in during the chorus. There's a lot of animal metaphors and it seems like a love song. The "can you feel my animal heart" line in the chorus is a little repetitive but it's still a solid song.

Track 3 is "Walls". The song started out with guitars right at the beginning. It was super fast paced and sounds like a fun pop-rock song with a little bit of synths mixed in. The verses are slower and quieter but it picks up again in the chorus. The chorus reminds me a little bit of a PVRIS song, I'm not really sure why. This is definitely a song about a break up/cheating. The strongest lyric to me was "you don't mean it when you say you love her". The bridge has lots of long "ohs" and really shows off Mercedes's vocals.

Next up is "Stereo" which was released a few months ago as the lead single when the album has announced. It's a good introduction to CML's pop/electronic new sound. It seems like another break up song but it's more nostalgic, with the lyrics in the verses talking about being young. The chorus is super catchy and I could definitely imagine this being on the radio. My favorite lyric is "I'm a song you don't wanna play".

Next is "Love Hurts". This is definitely one of my favorites. It starts out really eerie and quiet and then then the synths and guitars kick in and it feels like such a fun song. The lyrics are really angry cause love hurts. I especially love the line "already lost myself and now I'm losing you". This song has a ton of energy and I would love to hear it live.

Track 6 is "Drowning". A little more subdued than the previous songs and the lyrics are a little more emotional. I believe I heard somewhere that this song is about a friend suffering from depression and you don't want to let them sink deeper. I like the contrast between the really soft and sad verses and then the hard-hitting and uplifting chorus with the main line, "I won't let you sink when you're drowning". I like that there's a break in the relationship subject matter cause I can get tired of relationship songs.

Next is "Tough Love" which has a really fun synth/guitar combination in the intro. The song is basically about how two people are really not good for each other in a relationship but they can't seem to stay away from each other. I love the pre-chorus where in before the first chorus it says "the good turned bad and so did you", and then before the second chorus it says "the good turned bad and I did too", emphasizing that both parties in this relationship are causing the damage. The way Mercedes sings "I'm never giving up on you-oh-oh" is so fun and catchy.

Next is "Two-Headed Monster". It starts out eerie again with lots of lyrics about loneliness, with one of my favorite lyrics on the album, "it must be lonely living in your head so how did you get under my skin". The song has a similar meaning to "Tough Love", about two people who really don't work well together; their love is two-faced, where there's a good and bad side. Lyrically, I really like it, but musically it doesn't really stand out much to me.

Track 9 is "Sight:Sound" which is an interlude. It starts out with old-timey radio voices and noises and transitions into some piano like "Synesthesia". The piano does seem to sound like the next track "Need Someone". Not much else to say about this. Just an interlude.

Next is "Need Someone" is definitely one of the more poppy songs on the album. The verses are very soft and the chorus is more fun. I kind of got a friends-with-benefits vibe from this song because the chorus says "if you need someone, doesn't mean we should fall in love". There's a really good guitar solo in the middle and it was completely unexpected the first time I listened to it, so that was a nice surprise.

Next is "Dirt" which was the last song to be released early. This song is so catchy and it's definitely one of my favorites. What I got from this song is it's basically saying, you shouldn't trust me, I'm just gonna drag you down, and you don't know what you're getting into. "I tried to warn you, told you I was bad news, I never wanted to make a mess of everything" conveys the message pretty well. I would love to hear this song live, it's so damn catchy. I'm constantly singing "these lies, these dirty little lies" in my head.

The next song is "The Year I Disappeared". Another break up song. Definitely the saddest. It's basically about missing someone and still needing them after you break up and it's SAD. The best, but also most painful lyric is "I hate writing these songs about you knowing you'll never hear them". It's pretty mellow and then there's a guitar solo out of nowhere and I got really excited.

Next is "Never Gonna Change" which is one of my favorites. It has a great message of refusing to change for anyone and staying true to yourself. Self love, y'all. The chorus is another super catchy one and I love it. There's a really cool guitar solo thing in the bridge and this song is just so fun!!

The last track is "Taste:Touch" which is a 40 second outro similar to "Synesthesia" and "Sight:Sound". It has piano and scratchy radio sounds again. It also has tiny little parts from "Never Gonna Change". What I loved about this intro/interlude/outro thing in this album was the whole theme around Synesthesia. Synesthesia is when you feel one of your senses relating to another, like when some people see numbers as colors. I like how the album started out with Synesthesia in general and then the interlude "Sight:Sound" introduces two senses and "Taste:Touch" ends the album with two more senses. It kinda gives the idea that the album should be an entirely sensory experience and I like it a lot.

Overall "Synesthesia" is a super fun and catchy album. Courage My Love took a big risk changing their sound but it definitely paid off. I'd give this album an 8/10.